The Australian Songwriter Issue 104, October 2014 First published 1979 The Magazine of The Australian Songwriters Association Inc. In this edition: Chairman’s Message Editor’s Message 2014 National Songwriting Awards Night ASA Member Profile: Jill Riddiford ASA Member Profile: Fiona Karamanlidis Interview: Graeme Connors Composing With Loops and Samples: Saara Lamberg Songwriters Block: What Do Berklee And James Linderman Say? Sponsors Profiles Songwriters Fighting Fund ASA Member Profile: Glen Naylor ASA Member Profile: Steve McNaughton Members News and Information (including 2014 Australian Songwriting Contest update) The Load Out Official Sponsors of the Australian Songwriting Contest About Us: o Aims of the ASA o History of the Association o Contact Us o Patron o Life Members o Directors o Regional Co-Ordinators 1 Chairman’s Message Hey All, Isn’t this just about the most awesome time of the year? All entries for the 2014 Competition are now in the hands of the Judges, and pretty soon the ASA will be publishing the long awaited ‘SHORTLIST’. Throughout the last month, my fellow Directors and I have overheard snippets of songs as the Judges began the huge task of going through all the entries to whittle them down. We have all ended up excited and anticipating a bumper year from what has come to light so far. Each and every year the standard of songwriting just seems to improve, and it is a matter of contentment for me personally, to know that amongst our ASA Members we definitely have some of the best Songwriters in the country. Roll on November! Also, this month I want to direct all Members to our Regional Coordinators page. We now have RCs in every State and lots of regional areas as well. The only Capital City we are not represented in is Darwin, and I hope that can be rectified when I visit the Northern Territory on business this month. The ASA RCs are all doing fantastic things for our Members, so don’t forget to support them at the Wax Lyricals. In the meantime, whet your appetite by reading this month’s eNewsletter, excellently edited as usual by your Vice Chairman Alan Gilmour. Alan puts a great deal of time and energy into the magazine, and the result always brings forth an entertaining and informative missive. Cheers Denny Burgess Chairman Editor’s Message Welcome to the October edition of The Australian Songwriter. In this edition we feature interviews with Graeme Connors and Saara Lamberg as well as ASA member profiles on Jill Riddiford, Fiona Karamanlidis, Glen Naylor and Steve McNaughton. The Australian Songwriter welcomes written contributions from ASA members and readers of the magazine. If you have anything that you would like to say about yourself, other songwriters/musicians/artists/new releases or upcoming events, simply send your contribution via email to the Editor at [email protected]. Cheers Alan Gilmour 2 2014 National Songwriting Awards Night Australian singer/songwriters, Kate Ceberano and Ross Ryan will be Special Guest Artists at the 2014 National Songwriting Awards Night. The 2014 National Songwriting Awards Night will be held on Monday 24 November 2014 at The Wests Ashfield Club, 115 Liverpool Road, Ashfield NSW 2131, commencing at 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm. Dinner and drinks will be provided. The Awards Night will feature: The induction of Kate Ceberano into The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame, followed by a performance by Kate and her band. An on-stage interview and performance by legendary Australian singer/songwriter, Ross Ryan. Ross is currently celebrating the 40th anniversary of his 1974 hit song, “I Am Pegasus”. The announcement of the 2014 APRA/ASA Australian Songwriter of the Year. The announcement of the 2014 winner of The Rudy Brandsma Award for Songwriting Excellence. The announcement of the Top 10 Category winners in the 2014 Australian Songwriting Contest and performances by the winners of each Category. Tickets are available from the ASA National Office on [email protected]. 3 ASA Member Profile: Jill Riddiford Jill Riddiford (a.k.a Rollerblue) is a Sydney based singer and songwriter. She has written poetry and stories from an early age, but it has only been in recent years that she has combined this talent, with her life-long love of music, into songwriting. Describing her work as “Music from the soul for living and exploring”, the source of inspiration for many of her songs is travel experiences and chance conversations. She writes across a wide range of genres. Listeners of Jill’s music have often commented on the catchy melodies and beats. Descriptions have included: “melodic”, “feel good”, “rhythmic” and “sophisticated”. Jill released her debut album, “Homecoming”, with ten original songs, in May 2011, followed by five singles. Her second album, “The Summer Project”, followed in November 2013. Nine of her tracks have reached the finals or have been shortlisted in International and Australian song competitions. ASA: Jill, would you please tell us why you call your music “Music from the soul for living and exploring”? Jill: Many of my songs were inspired by travel experiences (both overseas and local) or come from reflecting on an earlier experience while travelling. I find that being in unfamiliar surroundings is always good for the creative process, anyway. A number of other songs came out of inward journeys- daydreams and dreams- part of the ongoing quest we all have to make sense of life. So there is this ethereal quality to a lot of my songs, I think, which a few people have commented on. ASA: Why did you come to music composition after being involved in writing poetry and stories for so long? Jill: Music was always a thread running through my life, although I don’t come from a musical family. My earliest music memory was humming tunes while on a swing when I was about nine. Then, growing up, there was this intense emotion around music which never really left me, but for the most part it was in the background. 4 I was always writing poems and I even wrote one about music. I have just retrieved it now. It was pretty bad, though one line “[music] fills in the spaces that experience leaves” may be alright, then again! Fast forward to about seven years ago, and I started doing some singing and spending time with musically inclined people, and suddenly had “the moment”, where I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and the songs started to tumble out. I was worried for a while that the ideas would dry up but it hasn’t happened yet. ASA: What do you think differentiates your music from other people's music? Jill: That’s probably more for other people to say. I don’t try to write in a particular style. I have had comments like “inspiring” and “poetic” and “themes that most people can relate to”. So yes, my music does seem to be on the deep and meaningful side! Also when I write, it often starts with a phrase of lyrics and melody together, and then the whole song builds from that. There’s this great line in the movie, “The Words”, which says “At some point, you have to choose between life and fiction. The two are very close but they never actually touch”. I think a lot of my songs flow through that narrow channel between imagination and reality. ASA: What is the best thing about songwriting, for you? Jill: One of the best things about songwriting is when you find out that someone has been influenced by something that you wrote. So for example, when I get a new fan on internet radio, or they make a comment, and I think that maybe they have played one of my songs more than once because something resonated with them. That feeling is just amazing! ASA: What are your plans for the future? Where are you hoping that music will take you? Jill: I want to keep writing, get better at it, and work more with other musicians. And I’d like more people to hear my songs. I’ve had some interest from publishers but nothing concrete has eventuated yet, so it would be great to have some licensing deals happen, or for some songs to be covered by a major artist. But meanwhile on the reality side, I’m really enjoying how my music is evolving. 5 ASA Member Profile: Fiona Karamanlidis Fiona Karamanlidis is a multi award-winning, independent songwriter, composer, producer and pianist from Adelaide, South Australia. Fiona has received numerous awards in various musical genres from professional music industry organisations since 2005. These include the Australian Songwriters Association, Songwriters Composers & Lyricists Association of South Australia and the South Australian Country Music Association. Fiona was a Finalist in the 2013 MusicOz Australian Independent Music Awards and the Tamworth Songwriters Association National Songwriting Competition in 2014. Fiona's Musical Styles are very diverse, and include Adult Contemporary Pop, R&B, Country, Jazz, Ballads, Gothic Rock Ballads, Classic Rock, Electronica and Instrumental. Fiona's songs can be described as eclectic, unique, atmospheric, haunting, emotive, with a touch of the mystic, creating a perfect ambience for Television and Motion Picture soundtracks. Fiona sourced some emerging and very talented local singers and musicians to work on her songwriting projects, notably including Trevor Warner (Australian Bluegrass Pioneer & father of Kym Warner, founding member of successful US Bluegrass band, The Greencards) and Rob Chenoweth (Adelaide-based trumpeter, who has worked with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles and Kenny Rogers).